C-Flat to C-Sharp: Sweet Instalove Romance (PR Girls & Instalove Book 3) Read online

  Beyond that, our husbands had been working the grill and bartending for us all afternoon. This was bliss.

  I jumped as I heard a splash just beside my left ear. Turning, I saw that it was Owen dropping some fresh ice cubes into our mimosa pitcher.

  “Sorry, Corina,” he chuckled. “I wouldn’t want your highnesses to be sipping warm cocktails in this heat.”

  “Excellent point,” Brynn laughed, stretching up to give her husband a kiss.

  It was so lovely to watch my friends and their constant casual displays of affection with their husbands. The six of us spent nearly every Saturday together in some way.

  Sometimes one family would babysit so the other two could run errands. Sometimes we all got together to test Andrew’s latest video games. His brother Terry, wife Lisa, and their daughter Kim often joined us as well.

  Now and then, Owen would be shooting a documentary, and need a child to run down a path, or play with a certain toy. Since our kids were a perfect range of ages, he rarely had to hire models.

  We’d become a big circle of family bliss, from picking up groceries at the farmer’s market for each other to babysitting at a moment’s notice so that couples could have date nights.

  Somehow we had created our own little community of creators and publicists, thinkers and dreamers, nerds and rock stars.

  Jenna’s fingers snapped in front of my face. “Hey bookworm, where did you go?”

  “Just thinking,” I said dreamily, taking a sip of my drink. “Isn’t it funny that we organize so many connections, and giant events for famous people, but we’ve never wanted that for ourselves. A simple family barbecue is all it takes to make us happy.”

  Brynn laughed loudly, waving to the beautiful open tent above us, then our plush, padded recliners. “Sure. This is normal.”

  “It was time for us to cash in some favors,” Jenna said.

  “Absolutely,” Andrew agreed, coming up behind her to lean right over and kiss her forehead. Then he turned to us. “Would any of you ladies like another burger?”

  We all waved him away. “No, thank you,” I said. “Another bite and I might explode.”

  “Plus we’ll be having popcorn when the kids are ready to show us their movie,” Jenna added. “The carnival popcorn machine was a brilliant idea,” she nodded to Brynn.

  Brynn lifted her glass, waving it toward Jenna and I. “We did a darn good job, ladies,” she said. “Not just this party, but the whole husbands and kids and homes and careers juggling act.”

  “At least we’re finished with the pregnancy portion of the program,” Jenna said with a grin as she raised her glass.

  “Absolutely right,” I said, editing out the curse for the sake of the kids as I waved my glass toward both of them and took a long sip.

  My second pregnancy had left me completely rundown for almost a year. I honestly didn’t know whether I would have made it without the constant help and support of my friends.

  Thanks to their daughters being a bit older, I didn’t need to buy any clothing or toys for our little Kara. Their stylish hand-me-downs were always exactly what we needed. When I was really low, they brought me home cooked food during the times Ethan had to leave for a week long mini tour.

  I wouldn’t let him slow down the band’s progress, especially since their third album was such a hit. But he refused to leave me for more than a week. Usually it was a four day weekend at most.

  Ethan didn’t think that I knew, but he’d clearly been speaking with Jenna and Brynn beforehand, so that he knew precisely what to say to reassure me when I was completely burnt out.

  Thankfully I recovered, strong enough to cover for Brynn when she sprained her ankle, and for Jenna when she had a nasty stomach flu that knocked her out for nearly two weeks.

  No matter what life threw at us, someone would be there to pitch in, and stop things from completely imploding.

  Closing my eyes for a moment, enjoying the summer heat, I felt a familiar pair of hands slide across my shoulders in a light massage.

  “How is my angel?” Ethan murmured.

  “Mellow,” I said slowly, grinning up at him.

  “Good. I’ve just been informed that I have to play guitar for the intro of the kids’ movie, so I’ll be at the end of the yard for a while. Holler if you need anything.”

  He held my right hand, spinning the ring with four colored stones – the birthstones of myself, my husband, and our two children – that Ethan had given me as a symbol that our family was complete.

  Leaning in, he whispered in my ear. “If you’re too tired to let me have my special dessert tonight, I’ll have double tomorrow, my angel.”

  He loved to make me blush in front of my friends. My eyes followed him as he walked over to the swarm of children planning and making set pieces out of outdoor furniture. Two of them were trying to get our cat, Badness, to wear a hat, with mixed success.

  Jenna laughed. “All these years and you’re still checking out your husband’s ass.”

  “Damn straight,” I said. “That’s one fine ass.”

  Giggling wildly, I saw them share a glance.

  “It’s still disturbing when you’re mouthy,” Brynn said, shaking her auburn hair.

  “Blame the mimosas for my undignified behavior,” I quipped, shutting my eyes again for a moment to listen to my husband strumming his guitar while our children, and my friend’s children, all sang in the sun.

  ***

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  About the Author: Romance author Haley Travis lives in a charming (old and rundown) little house with an old fashioned (overgrown and crazy) garden and just the right amount of books (six giant overstuffed shelves, the floor is starting to creak). She enjoys writing quirky, sexy modern romance, and loves creating interesting female characters who are at a turning point in their lives.

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